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Carmelo Anthony on free agency: ‘I would never do that again’

NBA All-Star Press Conferences and Media Availability 2014

NEW ORLEANS, LA - FEBRUARY 14: Carmelo Anthony #7 of the New York Knicks answers questions during NBA All Star Press Conferences and Media Availability as part of 2014 All-Star Weekend at the Hyatt Regency Hotel on February 14, 2014 in New Orleans, Louisiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2014 NBAE (Photo by Juan Ocampo/NBAE via Getty Images)

NBAE/Getty Images

Carmelo Anthony went on a free agent tour this summer, but ultimately decided to re-sign with the Knicks -- which apparently had as much to do with business as it did with anything else.

Anthony admitted he was close to leaving, however, and the decision was one that undoubtedly weighed on him -- so much so that it isn’t something he wants to go through in the future.

From ESPN New York:

“I plan on ending my career here so it wasn’t for me to go out there and try to strike a two-year deal and then have to go through this situation in two years,” he said. “I’m not doing that [free agency] ever again. I would never do that again. But I did it and I experienced it and it’s behind me now.”

Anthony signed a five-year deal, which doesn’t allow for early termination until the summer before the 2018-19 season. At that point, he will have played 15 NBA seasons, and things may have changed significantly between now and then -- for better or for worse -- as far as the Knicks are concerned.

But Anthony forced his way to the New York market, remember, and it has always seemed as though that is where he wanted to be. Nothing is guaranteed where the future is concerned, however, so Anthony may in fact face free agency once more before his career has concluded -- despite his best intentions to finish his NBA playing days as a member of the Knicks.